Rhythm of the War Drums
by Shattered Crowns
Summary: Allen Walker was known as the Destroyer of Time. He was a mad puppet with some unknown force pulling his strings. He was God's Clown, but that never stopped him. He always kept a smile on his face, he always kept walking no matter how hard things got. Now, it's getting harder to smile, harder to keep walking. What happens when he no longer smile? When he can no longer keep walking?
1. Chapter 1

**A.N**

_This is my take on what happened after Allen ran away from the Order. It takes place near the last chapters end. A big thank you to Liza for being my wonderful beta._

**_DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY. _**

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Rhythm of the War Drums

White. Everywhere he looked, there was white. Everything was just so…pure. Except for him. He wasn't pure. He was tainted. His mind and body were tainted. His body was at war with his mind. His Innocence was at war with the Noah in him. Allen Walker…the Destroyer of Time. Everything he touched was doomed to a fate of oblivion. Even himself. Exiled and lost, Allen Walker had nothing left. Those he called his friends were meant to be against him. Those who called him family had blood staining their hands. He was doomed to a fate as a wanderer. That was his life now. After all, he had promised his foster father that he would never stop, that he would keep walking. So that's what he did. He walked until his feet bled.

Allen Walker was truly God's Clown. Pure white hair covered his silver eyes and luckily hid his grotesque mark that rested over his left eye. An upside pentacle that trailed down to hook on his cheek, with a line running parallel to his eye, giving him a distrustful look. Who would want to trust their life to someone who looked like him? To add more to his appearance, his left arm was a smooth black, while his hand was deep black with a green cross imbedded in his hand. Further up his arm, the arm was normal, with a black band. Up where the shoulder and arm joined, a circular tattoo with arrow pointing outwards. Luckily, that was the end of his physical deformity.

According to Neah, Allen had become nothing but a mad puppet. His strings were being pulled by some unseen force, a force that took great pleasure out of torturing him. He was nothing but a puppet, playing his part.

Allen had been so lost in his thoughts that he was unaware of his surroundings. The only thing that pulled him out of his mind was the brief flash of pain that was followed by the sound of gears spinning. Allen tensed his body and looked around, searching for the Akuma that activated his eye. Finally, his silver right eye and his now black with a red target in it left eye landed on what it searched for.

"_Innocence, Activate!" _Allen yelled as a bright flash of light lit up the street. When the light faded, it revealed Allen with a white cloak resting on his shoulder. Resting on the hood of the cloak was a gray masquerade mask. Allen's once black arm was now a large claw with a crown laid on his wrist. Running up to the Level 3 Akuma, Allen jumped at the enemy, running his claws through the Akuma. Landing in a crouch, the white-haired male turned his head. Standing less than 100 feet away stood the Noah of Dreams, Road.

The child-like Noah giggled before she ran at Allen, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Allen-kun!" She yelled happily. The Noah of Dreams may have a child-like appearance but Allen knew better than to think that she was a child. In reality, she was the oldest Noah besides the Earl. They were the only two that had survived Neah's attack. "Road, please release me." Allen commanded softly. Road pouted but complied with Allen's request. "Allen-kun, can we go home together this time?" She questioned, ignoring the sigh that escaped from Allen. "You know the answer. It won't change, so stop asking. I'm Allen Walker, an exorcist! I will die before I become anything else!" The white-haired male yelled to Road.

Expecting this answer, Road shrugged and vanished from view. In her wake, she left behind several Level 3 Akuma. Eyeing them, Allen stood and a sad smile spread on his lips. Within the blink of an eye, Allen was on top of one of the Akuma and slashed their chest. As the Akuma exploded into dust, Allen angled his body towards the Akuma. "_Crown Edge!" _ The exorcist yelled as a barrage of crown-shaped rings flew from the claws of Crown Clown.

Once all the Akuma were disposed of, Allen deactivated his Innocence and glanced around the town. In his wake, several buildings were destroyed or damaged. "I guess Kanda was right. I'm no savior. I'm a destroyer." Allen whispered to himself as he turned around and kept walking forward, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head.

Allen hated nights like this. When he woke up, he felt as if he wasn't in control of his own body. Most likely, he wasn't. He had fought with Neah over control of his body and finally, the 14th Noah gave into his request. "_**Don't be that way, dear nephew. I only wanted to play." **_Neah defended himself from within Allen's thoughts. "Last time I let you play, I woke up covered in blood and the town were staying in was in ruins. I was counting the bodies like sheep in a field." The white-haired exorcist snapped, talking aloud.

Feeling Neah withdraw deeper in his mind, Allen allowed himself to relax. His mind wandered to his friends. What were they doing? Lenalee would most likely be handing coffee to Koumi, one of her smiles present on her face. Lavi would be with Bookman, reading some books. Kanda would be in the training room, meditating with Mugen resting beside him. Timothy would be running around on those rollerblades of his, denying how much he missed Allen if anyone asked him. Reever would be in Koumi's office, threatening and/or coxing Koumi to do his paperwork. Johnny would invest himself in his work, trying to not let his mind wander to Allen.

Shaking his head, Allen tried to kill the thoughts that plagued him. The Order was meant to be his enemy, regardless of the memories he had there. Allen was and will be a wanderer. Just himself and the voice inside his head. Even though he was no longer part of the Order, he will continue fighting in the war. He had lost too much to not fight.

In the end, it would be Allen against the Millennium Earl. He wasn't sure on the details though. Would he have succumbed to Neah? Would Neah be willing to go up against Adam once again? Would Neah be on his side, willing to lend his power? All of those questions kept Allen up at night and he refused to listen when Neah tried to convince that he will be on his side. Neah had already taken forceful control of his body and that experience wasn't pleasant.

In the end, he gave up on thinking about the future. Pushing himself off the bed, Allen walked out of the room and to the dining room. Ordering as much food as he wanted was a luxury Allen no longer had. Now, he had to order an average sized amount, eat it, then go to another place and repeat the process. He wished at moments like these that he was back at the Order, eating around the table with his friends. At a moment like these, he hated his uncle, Neah. However, Allen knew that it wasn't truly Neah's fault. It was his. He was the one who accepted Neah 35 years ago, regardless of not remembering this. He was to blame for everything.

Allen Walker was truly nothing more than God's Clown. He was truly a mad puppet, with some unknown presence pulling his strings. He was nothing more than… "Allen…?" A voice rang out, the voice familiar to him. It was someone he had left behind in the Order. "Allen… is that really you?" The voice asked, a wide range of emotions rang from the voice.

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_That's the first chapter! If you loved it or even if you hated it, leave a review. Any questions or comments, you can either leave a review and I'll answer it in the next chapter or you can send me a PM. Anyways, thanks for reading. _

_Review and Rate!_

_-Shattered Crowns_


	2. Chapter 2

_A.N: Thank you to everyone who gave reviews, follows and favorites! It really means a lot to me. Anyways, thanks again to Liza before being my amazing beta._

**_DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS._**

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Ch.2

Allen's eyes widened in surprise. Why were they here? They shouldn't be here. They couldn't be here, not when he was quickly losing control over Neah. Neah sensed his discomfort and tried to push for control over Allen's body. Silver eyes glanced at purple just before Allen turned to run away.

He knew that it was useless to run against someone who spent their whole life running. She was the fastest person in the Order and Allen knew that he would soon be caught unless he did something. Spotting a large crowd, Allen ran into the middle of it and stripped off his jacket and effortlessly swiping some unfortunate man's hat. In a semi-disguise, Allen blended in with the crowd. He watched Lenalee run past him with a breath suck in his throat.

"_**Is that any way to treat a lady?" **_Neah berated from Allen's mind. Allen sighed and slowly left the crowd, his eyes constantly searching for the familiar Order uniform. "I think it's time we left this town. Where should we go?" Allen thought aloud, running a hand through his shoulder length hair. He should see about getting that cut.

The next night, Allen woke up when the train suddenly stopped on the tracks. "What is happening?" He questioned a nearby passenger who simply shrugged. Suppressing a sigh, Allen walked up the train. A thumping from his pocket halted his movements. Confused, Allen opened his pocket only to get attacked by a golden blur. "Timcanpy!" Allen yelled happily, reaching up to grab the golem that was currently biting his cheek.

"I've missed you, Tim!" Allen cried, snuggling the golden golem. In response, Tim simply bit his cheek again. "As much as I want to play with you right now Tim, I have to go check on what happened." The white-haired male shrugged and continued his journey to the conductor's cabin. Knocking politely on the door, Allen smiled reassuringly. "Hello. I wanted to see what happened and if there was anything I could to help." The conductor was taken back and blinked a few times before regaining his bearing.

"Ah, there are some odd creatures walking on the tracks." The conductor explained to the former exorcist. Allen was just about to reply when his left eye activated. Giving a smile to the surprised and terrified conductor, the clown ran towards the nearest window and threw himself out of it. "50 level ones and 20 level twos." Allen commented, already in the process of transmuting his left arm into the Sword of Exorcism. The familiar comfort that Crown Clown provided whenever it was activated ran through Allen's body.

Sprinting towards the mass of Akuma, Allen began to swing his sword. Sidestepping out of the way of a bullet, Allen laughed, his eyes flashing gold for a brief second. Swinging his sword in a wide arch, Allen quickly killed at least half of the Akuma. "Is that all you've got, Earl? I would have liked to play some more~!" Allen taunted, his voice a mixture of his and Neah's. Silver eyes turned gold as Neah painfully took control of Allen's body. "_I wanna play some more, Adam!" _Neah yelled happily, cutting down Akuma. While Allen was careful to not get hit by the bullets, Neah didn't even care. Once a bullet hit, Neah quickly killed the Akuma that sent it.

Once all the Akuma were defeated, Allen forcefully regained control of his own body. "_Ark open!" _The duo ordered a white portal opening beneath Allen's feet. Falling in, Allen sighed. "Ark Arda!" The former exorcist ordered the White Ark that was now in his control. Even though Allen promised to not use the Ark anymore, he realized that he couldn't just stop. If he closed the gates that he opened, the Order would never know that he was still using.

Since he was the conductor of the Ark, he knew who was in it and when they left or arrived. This knowledge made it much easier for him to use the Ark. If he used when no one was around, there was no risk of someone spotting him. Walking through the white town, Allen made his way to the piano room. Lying down on the couch inside, Allen rubbed his eyes. "_Neah…I don't know how much longer I can hold you back." _Allen thought to himself, closing his eyes.

Allen's dreams were plagued by bits and pieces of his old life. His life when he agreed to be Neah's host. "_It will be fine, Neah. I'll keep you until you are better." Allen's voice encouraged the dying Noah. Neah gave Allen and Mana a faint smile before transferring his being into Allen. Then, the Noah stopped breathing. _

A yell erupted from Allen's throat. "Why?!" He screamed loudly at himself. Inside his mind, Neah jolted awake. "_**Allen? Are you okay?" **_The Noah asked his nephew. "Fuck off, Neah. I'm not okay. I'm in the middle of a holy war with a Noah residing in me. The one place I thought of home is now against me. The one person I saw as a parent only cared for me because I was your host! All of this is your fault! If you hadn't died, I wouldn't be in this situation! I just wanted to live a normal life! One with a family and parents that loved me! That will never happen because of all of this. My Innocence is slowly killing me. Either way, I'll be dying at a young age. It could be at your hand or it could be from the Innocence!" Allen screamed aloud at the Noah that resided within him.

The screaming fit surprised Neah. It was coming from Allen, the boy who was a complete gentleman. Allen Walker, the boy who would gladly give up his own life if that meant that his friend's would have a chance at living a normal one. It was as if the boy had undergone a personality change while he was sleeping.

"_**Allen, calm down please." **_Neah pleaded with his host. "Shut up, Neah!" Allen cried, his hands clutching his hair. Neah gently pushed his way to take control of Allen. Once he was in full control, he grabbed the piano stool and moved it to the window. Sitting down, he cocked his head to the side. "_**Allen, look at the window. That's us. We are one body, two souls. However, I can still feel whatever you feel and you can feel whatever I feel. I know you don't like the situation, but you have to remember what Mana always said. Don't stop. Keep walking. I know you feel like this isn't your path, but it is." **_Neah attempted to reassure his nephew, who he felt calming down.

Looking in the mirror, he saw his reflection mixed in with Allen's. They were so similar yet so different. They were opposite's sides of the same coin. Allen was light while Neah was dark. Somehow, they worked together though. They both realized that they had no one else in the world expect each other. Allen and Neah Walker, both alone in this world, both outsiders. They were within yet they were also without. Slowly, Neah let Allen take control again. "_**He would be proud of you." **_Neah said softly, before retreating to the back of Allen's mind.

Long after Allen's episode, the white-haired male left the piano room and aimlessly walked around the Ark. He made his way up the tower and sat on the edge of the tall building, his feet hanging. From up here, he could see the very few exorcists walked to the gate they needed for their mission. Allen spotted Timothy and smiled at the boy, even though the small boy couldn't see him. Timothy reminded Allen of himself before he met Mana. The clown regretted that he wouldn't get to see Timothy grow older. He knew that Timothy quickly formed an attachment to him, seeing him as a big brother.

A curling sensation on his neck reminded Allen of Timcanpy's presence. Timcanpy wanted to fly down to his old friends and bite their cheeks. Sighing, Allen smiled. "Go ahead, Tim. Go say hi." The golem quickly unwound himself from Allen's neck and flew down to Timothy, knocking into him. Allen could see Timothy's smile and he could also see him wipe his face to get rid of the stray tears. Timothy knew that Timcanpy belonged to Allen and Allen alone. If Timcanpy was okay, then so was Allen.

The former exorcist pushed himself up and moved away from the edge of the tower. "Where to now?" He mused. Walking around the center of the tower, Allen lost himself in his thoughts. _**"We could just get on a train and stop in an unknown place." **_Neah suggested to Allen. The puppet bit his lip and shrugged. "I guess we could do that…" Turning around, Allen made his way down the tower and to a random gate. Walking through it, Allen ignored everyone that was around him and made his way straight to the train station. "One ticket for the next train, please." Allen flashed the lady who was working his usual smile and chuckled under his breath when she blushed and stuttered out a reply.

Boarding the train, Allen thought he heard someone call out his name. Turning his head, he spotted a male with dark navy blue hair. Quickly pushing himself inside the train, Allen took a deep calming breath. There was no way that he caught the train in time. Allen himself barely caught the train in time. Assuming that the man never made it onto the train, the former exorcist slowly walked to the back of the train. Humming a song under his breath, the white-haired male sat down on the farthest seat, all the way in the back.

Eventually, Allen slowly fell asleep as the train rocked him back and forth. In his mind, Neah was wide awake. Seeing as Allen needed the rest but Neah wanted to move around, the Noah made a rash decision. He took control of Allen's body and pushed himself out of the seat. Walking up the train, Neah observed everyone in the train. Luckily, Allen's eye never went off so they were safe for the time being.

As Neah walked around the train, Allen was getting restless in his dream sleep. Frowning, Neah turned around and walked back to their seat. _**"Allen, are you okay?" **_Neah questioned softly, not really wanting to disturb the sleeping soul. Neah didn't want to go through another episode, like yesterday. The sleeping soul stayed silent and Neah sighed. He didn't know what was setting Allen on edge. It could be a variety of things. "_Last stop on the line. Please depart now." _The conductor said over the intercom, which inclined Neah to stand up. Grabbing what little baggage they had, the 14th Noah followed the other few people who had stops here.

Just as Neah stepped off the train, Allen's cursed eye activated. That alone was enough to ruse the sleeping soul awake. Neah peacefully let Allen take control as the exorcist looked around, trying to spot the Akuma. "Don't worry Akuma, I will save your suffering soul." Allen promised just before he invoked Crown Clown. Once the mask slid over Allen's face, the poor Akuma knew it was game over for him.

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_A.N: Anyways, thats the chapter! I was thinking about either updating every Saturday or every other Saturday. I tried to make the chapter a little bit longer but expect longer chapters in the future!_

_If you loved it or even if you hated it, leave a review. Any questions or comments, you can either leave a review and I'll answer it in the next chapter or you can send me a PM. Anyways, thanks for reading._

_Review and Rate!_

_-Shattered Crowns_


	3. Chapter 3

_A.N: Oh whoa, whats this? AN UPDATE? WOW! Yeah, sorry for disappearing. I'm gonna try to get this story back on track and if anyone wants to become my new beta, that would be greatly appreciated. Anyways, on to the story!_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT  
**_

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Ch.3

After finally putting that poor Akuma soul to rest, Allen let out a soft sigh before looking around. Thankfully, the Akuma wasn't hiding in plain sight so Allen didn't have to worry about unwarranted questions from people passing by on the street. The town was unknown to him. Allen was extremely grateful for that, due to the fact that maybe he could have escaped from the Order's radar, if only for a little bit.

After the former exorcist had aimlessly wondered about the town, getting a layout in his head, he collapsed on to a bench. Running a gloved hand through his hair, Allen leaned back to let his face bask in the few sunlight rays left. "_**Are you okay?" **_Neah asked softly, trying to push into control of the quickly suppressed Neah and sighed. "It's like they can't let me live out the rest of my damned life in peace. First Lenalee, then I see Timothy and finally Kanda. Why can't they just let me go?" The white-haired clown groaned, closing his eyes as he thought about his friends that he left behind when he left the Order. "This is your entire fault, Neah. If you weren't in me, I could still be over there, enjoying their company." Neah stayed silent as Allen continued to blame him for all of this. "_**I'm sorry." **_The Noah tried to console Allen but the clown wouldn't accept any of it.

After the sun dipped below the horizon, Allen finally got up, a low rumple erupting from his stomach. A low chuckle left his mouth as he made his way to the closest restaurant. Once he passed through the door, a few people looked up at Allen, surprised and a bit afraid of the man with white hair and a blood red pentacle on his face. Ignoring them, Allen requested a table and waited for a few moments before the hostess led him to his table. Once again, Neah pushed for control due to how he could tell that Allen was clearly exhausted from everything that has happened lately. All of this was taking a toll on Allen's body and the teenager hadn't been getting enough sleep lately due to how they were always on the run from the Order or other Noah.

To Neah's surprise, Allen let him take control as Allen receded to the back of his mind, the puppet quiet. Once his waitress appeared, Neah gave her a small smile as he ordered a cup of coffee before he began to even look at the menu. As the waitress left to go retrieve Neah's coffee, the Noah opened up the menu to see what even looked appealing to him. A low chuckle left his mouth when the waitress reappeared to take his order. The poor girl didn't know how big the host's stomach was, due to his Innocence draining his energy rather quickly.

As Neah was busy eating food, Allen was deep in thought. He thought about everything that has happened to him over the past couple years. He got accepted into the Order and formed bonds with everyone, The Order became his home and he loved it. Then, the Noah began to appear and soon Tyki was destroying Allen's innocence, leaving him dead. Flash forward and Allen is invoking Crown Clown. After that, Allen was sent to aid his team and then was sent into the Earl's arc to save everyone and eventually ends up breaking the critical point, making his synchronization with Crown Clown over 100%. Past that, Allen ends up gaining the arc and everything was just sent down from there. Allen though about who he had left in life. It was just him, Timcanpy, Neah and his beloved Innocence, Crown Clown. It seemed as if everything that Allen invested into went straight to Hell. It was like God forgotten about Allen or got some sick enjoyment from watching Allen suffer.

Suddenly, Allen pushed for control and quickly finished up the meal, setting some money onto the table and leaving the restaurant. _**"Allen, what's happening?"**_ Neah demanded to know why Allen decided to suddenly take up control and make them leave the pleasant restaurant. "I have a bad feeling about this." The puppet murmured, looking around, his eyes scanning for any sort of threat or enemy.

A flash of red was spotted in Allen's peripheral vision but when he turned to look, it was gone. Anxious, Allen slowly began to walk toward the edge of the town, a long brown road in front of him. Another town could be spotted in the distance, but it was soon becoming too dark to tell exactly. Allen spotted another flash of red and green. "Who's there?" He called out, silver eyes narrowed as Allen slowly turned around to scan the area once again.

Gears suddenly appeared over his eye, the soft whirling could be heard throughout Allen's ears. Invoking his Innocence, Allen jumped back to narrowly avoid being hit by a barrage of bullets. It was a swarm of Level 3 Akuma, each attempting to attack Allen and claim him as their kill. _**"Nephew, let me have my fun with them. It's been so long since I got to play." **_ Neah whined, trying to breech past Allen's mind and assume control of the body. The struggle for power could be seen outside of Allen's body as his eyes were shifting from calm silver to a dangerous gold.

The power struggle continued for a few moments before Neah finally won out and a terrifying smirk could be seen on the white haired clown's face as the skin turned a few shades darker. _**"Is this all that you got, Earl?" **_Neah growled as he dug his claws into the Akuma. _**"I want to play, Adam. Come and play with me." **_The Noah finished off the last Akuma once his sentence ended as a feral smirk made its way onto the host's face. _**"I'm not done playing just yet, little Allen." **_Neah purred as he looked around, trying to find any witnesses to what he was about to do. Once he made sure the coast was clear, Neah looked down and licked his lips. Neah willed the White Ark to open a gate beneath him. _**"Ark Arda!"**_Neah said as he dropped into the White Ark, watching the gate shatter behind him.

Once landing in the Ark,Neah looked around. Finally, he spotted the door he wanted. The door that led to the Black Order. "Neah, no!" Allen cried, trying to regain control of his body before the Noah within him tried to ruin everything he worked so hard. Allen finally got control and ran out of view of the door, his eyes wide as the door opened just as he hid behind a building. Kanda and Lenalee walked out from the door, discussing their latest mission. Just before the door shut, Timcanpy flew out and flew around the pair, bringing up memories of Allen.

"I saw Moyashi the other day. He ran into a train before I could get to him. Tch, baka Moyashi." Kanda grumbled out to Lenalee, barely loud enough for Allen to hear the conversation. A small frown graced his face as he looked down, waiting for Lenalee's response. "I just want Allen to come home. We can figure something out, I'm sure." Lenalee said to Kanda, a sigh escaping her lips. The duo soon walked into another door, cutting Allen off from their conversation. Timcanpy hovered next to the door, before the golem sensed his new masters' presence and made his way to Allen, landing on his head and wrapping his tail around Allen's neck. "Hey, Tim…" Allen whispered, looking up and sighing.

Stepping out from the shadows supplied by the building, Allen glanced back at the door that leads to the Black Order. He was caught in the middle. Allen wasn't just an exorcist, but a Noah. He was the gray part, stuck in a world made up of black and white. "Should I go back home…" He mused aloud, conflicted.

As all of this was happening, Neah was inside of Allen's head, angry that his playtime got caught off short by Allen. _**"Just keep this in mind Allen, wherever you go, you won't be able to get rid of me. I am you and you are me. We are one and nothing or no one can change that, no even you." **_Neah whispered, unheard by Allen.

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_A.N: Anyways, that is the new chapter. Sorry for totally disappearing again. Oh, and sorry for any mistakes that are in here. I just typed it and posted it, I didn't really reread this. If there are any mistakes, just let me know and I 'll go fix them! _

_So, thank you for reading! If you love it or even if you hate it, leave a review. Reviews really do help authors when it comes to uploading because it let us know that someone took the time to actually read our story. Anyways, if you have any questions, you can leave it in a review and I'll answer it next chapter or you can send it to me in a PM. _

_Rate, review and follow!_

_-Shattered Crowns_


	4. Chapter 4

_A.N: Someone should just yell at me to update because sometimes, I simply just forget. Anyways, I wanna say to thank you to everyone who supports this story by leaving a favorite behind, following me or leaving reviews. It makes me extremely happy. _

_Anyways, this new chapter is going up in celebration of the new DGM manga chapter that is rumored to come out on the 17 of this month. I cant wait!_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT**_

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Allen heaved a large sigh, leaning against the building. It was difficult to put into words on how badly he wished to go back home. To go back to what was familiar, but the exorcist knew that he couldn't. He was damned to roam the world as a puppet, his footsteps quickly becoming dust in the wind.

Pushing his body off of the building, Allen made his way over to the nearest door. It slipped his mind that this was the same door that Kanda and Lenalee had passed through only a few minutes prior. Blinking at the new surrounding, Allen gave a small smile at the sight of a small town in front of him. Reaching back, the white-haired male flipped up his hood, effectively covering his hair and pentacle. If anyone saw those, it would be a dead giveaway as to who he was.

As he made his way into the center of the village, Allen stuck to groups of people, using them as a cover to make him invisible. The former clown was extremely grateful for the years he spent working as a thief before he joined the circus because it made it easier for him to blend in with his surroundings.

Humming a wordless song, Allen continued to wander through the town, grateful for the silence in his head. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the man who ruined his life. Because of Neah, Allen couldn't go back home to his friends, to his family, to those he swore to protect with his life.

It was when he reached the small fountain in the middle of the town that Allen realized that he had absolutely no clue as to where Timcampy could be. Looking around, the exorcist searched for the gold golem. What he found wasn't his ever faithful golem but rather, he found himself looking into the violet eyes of Lenalee Lee. Instantly, his body reacted. Bolting from his spot on the edge of the fountain, Allen ran over to the alleyway in the corner of the square, pushing his slender frame through groups of people. At the first turn, Allen turned and ran up the wall, his hands grasping the edge of the balcony from the second story. Pulling himself up, Allen quickly scaled the side of the building and was soon on the roof, looking around to see if Lenalee or Kanda was following him.

He saw a flash of the black and red uniform. That was enough to spur Allen to move again. If anyone of the town locals had looked up, they would have seen the former exorcist leaping from one roof to another, all in an effort to lose Lenalee or Kanda. Spotting a rather large pile of hay, Allen leaped off the roof, having faith that he would land in the hay. For once, his faith didn't lead him astray as he opened his calm silver eyes to see only yellow.

Burrowing within the hay, Allen held his breath when Lenalee walked past the hay, her violet eyes grazing over the hiding spot. Allen could barely make out her features but he could see the familiar red anklets resting on her legs. Once she seemed sure that Allen wasn't anymore in the area that she could see, Lenalee continued on to walk.

Letting out the breath of air he was holding, Allen pulled himself out of the hay. Leaning over to clean off the few strands of hay, Allen didn't notice anyone walking past him. Once he pulled himself back to his full height, he was looking straight at the damned Rose Cross, the symbol of the Black Order.

Silver eyes moved to see the face of Yu Kanda. Allen gulped and gave a small smile, taking a small step back. Before his foot could land on the floor, Kanda already snatched Allen's collar and was pulling him close.

"_**Looks like they found you."**_ Neah said, breaking the magnificent silence in Allen's head. Allen resisted the urge to respond back to Neah, his body in shock from being caught. He had been so smart in avoiding the Order.

"Long time no see, Moyashi." Kanda said, a smirk on his lips from being the one to find Allen. Allen opened his mouth to retort back when Lenalee's voice beat him to it. "A-Allen?" She stuttered in misbelieve, regrouping with Kanda. The two exorcists had caught sight of Allen and they quickly decided that Lenalee would search areas first and then Kanda would search after her, in case Allen came out of his hiding spots.

Half of Allen's body wanted to struggle in Kanda's grip and break free. Break free and disappear. But Lenalee's broken voice broke whatever struggle he had in his heart. Pulling himself out of Kanda's grip, Allen stood before the two exorcists, a sad smile on his face.

"Looks like I lost this game of Hide and Seek." The puppet said, straightening his clothes. His eyes were everywhere but on Kanda and Lenalee. It seemed that Allen's voice broke the spell holding Lenalee in her place because she quickly threw herself on to the clown, tears streaming down her face.

"Allen!" She cried, clutching his chest, like he was going to disappear if she didn't hold on tight enough. A few moments passed before Allen put his arms around Lenalee, returning the hug. "I've m-missed you s-so much." The girl sobbed, her hands clenching the fabric of his cloak.

"I've missed you too…" He whispered, patting her back gently in an effort to get her to stop crying. After a few minutes of holding Allen, Lenalee finally composed herself and pulled back to look at Allen. Kanda looked like he just wanted to return back to the Order and mediate.

"Allen, will you come back home with us? Big brother says that big changes are coming to the Order and those who know of you within the Order, talk highly about you to the new finders and recruits. We miss you back at home. We miss your laughter and your smile. We miss _you_. So, please come back?" Lenalee pleaded, her hands reaching over to grab Allen's, gripping his hands tightly. Violet eyes clashed with silver as Allen debated on his answer.

Allen finally thought of an answer and opened his mouth to respond to the offer that was presented before him. That was before the loud screams erupted a few blocks away and Allen's cursed eye activated. The answer would have to wait as they had something else to take care of.

* * *

_A.N: Well, thats it for today, folks! Lemme know if you caught that one sly reference to a video game I slipped into here. _

_I wanna say thank you again to everyone who supports this story! Kinda sorry about the cliffhanger. Let me know in a review if you like the story or if you have any questions or just wanna say something random. _

_Oh, and if anyone of you wanna follow me on my tumblr, its seasaltpromises_

_Follow me on there and yell at me to update this story whenever you want. Until next time, my sweet readers. _

_-Shattered Crowns_


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